A subterranean formation may be stimulated to increase the production rate of reservoir fluids. Stimulation may be accomplished in a variety of ways, with the specific stimulation technique often being selected based upon the specific geological structures in the subterranean formation and/or the specific reservoir fluids that may be removed therefrom. For example, oil shale formations may be stimulated through the use of hydraulic fracturing, with the resulting fractures serving as fluid conduits for the removal of shale oil from the oil shale formation. In another example, an acid solution may be supplied to a carbonate formation to dissolve a portion of the carbonate formation and create one or more fluid conduits therein. Combinations of different stimulation techniques are often used.
It may sometimes be desirable to stimulate a specific region, or zone, of a subterranean formation. A stimulation well may be drilled into the formation and may be utilized to provide one or more stimulant fluids to the formation, such as to one or more regions of the formation that includes the desired resource to be produced, so called “pay zones”. A portion of a wellbore that is associated with the well may be present within a pay zone of the formation, while a remainder of the wellbore may be outside the pay zone. In such a case, it may be desirable to direct stimulant fluids into the pay zone only. Additionally or alternatively, it may be desirable to independently, systematically, and/or selectively provide the stimulant fluid to a plurality of sub-regions, or subzones, within the pay zone.
Historically, coiled tubing and/or ball actuated systems have been utilized to provide stimulant fluids to specific or desired regions of the formation. However, these systems may be expensive to implement, time-consuming to utilize, may only provide for stimulation of a limited number of regions within the subterranean formation, may only provide for stimulation of specific predetermined regions of the subterranean formation and/or may not be effective when utilized in long wellbores. Thus, there exists a need for improved systems and methods for stimulating subterranean formations.